Retention

Roughly 10 months ago, Guy English likely ingested far too much Melange and presciently wrote a piece on the problems he saw facing Apple as they scaled through the post-iPhone era. Third among them, From Kicking Bear:

It’s been maybe three years since the team that has defined what we now know as iOS were granted options. Look at the share price then and look at the share price now.

Ultimately, the retention of talent will be Apple’s Achilles’ heel.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball argues that English should have made that his first point. Gruber's comment was sparked by this tweet by Dan Frommer:

This is not at all a scientific study, but most of the Apple employees I follow on Twitter have quit within the last ~9 months. Huh.

Gruber added that it wasn't an exodus, and it's not. Former Apple employee Justin Reid explained it this way:

It was a village and became a city overnight. Village folk don't necessarily like living in cities.

When you've made the current big thing, when you've made the money that comes with being in at the beginning, and when the world around you has grown from something secret and small to something universe-dentingly famous, you might just find decide you pick up your bags and your fortunes and go off in search of the next adventure.

Likewise, Apple is hiring as well, and hiring some phenomenally talented people. They're also promoting and consolidating from within. More than an exodus, it represents a changing of the guard, and the influx of fresh talent and ideas, could also help Apple in their own search for what's next.

If this was any company but Apple, nobody would care enough to speculate on blogs about the company's retention situation nor comment on said speculation with defensive counter-speculation (nor counter-defensive counter-speculation....oops! sorry, ah, well....pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!).

"We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."